A disastrous second period for the Carolina Hurricanes was nearly forgotten during a stunning turn of events in the third period in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Behind the stellar play of backup goalie Brandon Bussi, Carolina erased a 4-0 deficit after scoring four goals — including three in a 39-second stretch — in the third period to force overtime. And eventually double overtime.
But the Hurricanes ran out of magic.
Bussi’s lone blemish came on a Shea Theodore goal 5:38 into the second overtime, and the Hurricanes fell to the Golden Knights 5-4 to fall behind in the series 2-1 Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.
“I knew we were going to get going, eventually,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We got back in the game, gave us a chance to win. But you can’t have those mistakes in the second (period). We just can’t have those this time of the year.”
Bussi, a 27-year-old in his first season in the NHL and making his Stanley Cup playoff debut, stopped the first 18 shots in the third period and first overtime and in nearly six minutes in the second overtime.
“We’re a resilient team. We don’t give up,” Bussi said. “There’s a lot of times in the regular season we showcased that and in the playoffs. With this group, we never have any doubt. We just got to keep sticking with our game.”
‘Gave us a chance’
Brind’Amour made the move to Bussi, replacing Frederik Andersen, after the second period with Carolina trailing 4-0.
“(Bussi) played well,” Brind’Amour said. “There’s no reason to leave (Andersen) in there the way that game was going. He gave us a little boost, gave us a chance. It’s a tough break because he was playing great. But that’s hockey.”
The third shot of the game Buss faced was a Mitch Marner penalty shot after the Golden Knights forward was slashed by Carolina’s Sebastian Aho. Bussi made the save on his right side as Marner was looking for his fourth goal of the game.
“I was pretty even keel,” Bussi said. “I think these are the moments you want to be playing in. I just put my head down, have fun with it. It was a great effort by us. That was a tough bounce there in overtime.”
In a last-gasp effort, Carolina scored with under two minutes left on a power-play goal from Andrei Svechnikov after Theodore was penalized for a delay of game.
“We always find a way to dig ourselves out. Always,” Brind’Amour said. “That’s what happened tonight.”
Carolina forward Jordan Staal, who had a goal and an assist during the Hurricanes’ four-goal effort in the third period, said the team “got out of (their) game” and made “too many turnovers.”
“It’s a tough one to swallow, but we’re going have to get after it in Game 4,” Staal said. “We had already lost the game in the second (period) but we almost didn’t. It was a heck of an effort … the way it finished (stinks).
“We’ll look at some things that we can do better and not give ourselves a 4-0 hole.”
‘Got our jam back’
Carolina was the more aggressive team in the first period, getting seven shots on goal (compared to two from Vegas), which did not include a few solid looks that were whiffed on.
The Hurricanes got a few breaks in the second period when two different Golden Knights goals were wiped off the board within the first four minutes of the second period after Brind’Amour challenged both goals — one on a Vegas offside and the other after Ivan Barbashev interfered with Andersen.
Then the Golden Knights avalanche of goals started, with Tomas Hertl scoring on a power play after Carolina was called for too many men on the ice. Then Mitch Marner was credited with a goal on a puck that hit the stick of Sean Walker and added two more goals.
The Carolina scoring chances came to fruition in the third period. Jordan Martinook ended the shutout on a backhanded shot in front of the net that got past Vegas goalie Carter Hart. Taylor Hall scored 26 seconds later, making another move past Hart on a wrist shot to get past Hart and cut the deficit to 4-2.
“We kind of got our jam back after that first (goal),” Bussi said.
The Hurricanes got within one goal in the third period after Staal scored to cap off an incredible 39-second stretch to cut Vegas’ lead to 4-3. The Golden Knights held onto the one-goal lead for nearly 11 minutes before Svechinkov tied the game.
Looking ahead
Brind’Amour said he will take the two days off before Game 4 to “reassess how we’re going to go about the next game,” and did not give a definitive answer as to if Andersen will remain the starting goalie for Tuesday.
“That’s not my call,” Bussi said. “(Andersen) is the reason why we’re here right now. If they tell me I’m going, great. If not, I’ll be ready.”
The coach added he did not have an update on the status of former Golden Knight William Carrier, who left midway through the second period with an undisclosed injury.
“(Carrier) is a big part of our group, physically and the way we play,” Staal said. “He just dives right into that, holds onto pucks. It was a tough hole, but the wingers did a good job of rolling the lines.”
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
